The lilly pilly psyllid (Trioza eugeniae) is a tiny native insect related to cicadas. The immature psyllids or nymphs feed inside the leaves. They settle in one spot then embed themselves in the leaf, forming a lump or pimple. This is a disfiguring problem and the last thing you want to see on your stylish hedge or topiary. Some lilly pillies are not worried by the pimple psyllid. The most resistant varieties are Acmena smithii and Syzygium luehmannii. Those that most readily show signs of attack are Syzygium paniculatum types including 'Lillyput'. Waterhousea floribunda is also susceptible. Plants in nurseries don't usually show signs of psyllid damage as they are sprayed regularly as a protective measure. As the pest is inside the leaf, contact sprays are not effective. Control is usually gained with a systemic spray such as Confidor.

Anonymous says... have stands of lilly pilly trees along fence line about 5 years old.
leaves are browning off and one tree is loosing a lot of foliage .
at this time of the year not using drip water rely on rains

nath says... have got 9 lilly pillies as a hedge in the front yard and it appears something something is eating them at random on different sections of the tree, almost as if something has sucked the life out of them in parts from top to bottom.thank you.

katie says... I do garden maintenance and have several clients with this problem oonn their acmena hedge. i Have used confidor and it doesnt seem to touch it are there any other ideas as it looks terrible and I would never recommend this hedging because of it even though I love the option in general

Joseph says... Hi,once the leafs are "infected" there's nothing you can do about it,however they will still survive. For the future - I've used Confidor and White Oil sprayed on the young leafs before the fungus or bacteria gets in,and apparently it worked.That was my experience,I hope it will work for you too.

Lilly says... My brand new adult lilly pilly has browned ALL OVER after having been planted for just over a week. Did your lime sulphur treatment work? Please let me know. I will try anything as I paid a high price for this mature plant!

Noeleen says... I have 8 standard Lilly Pilly bushes and notice that one has black spots on top side of leaves, yellowing and then fall off. It is the only one that this is happening t0o, please help
Thank you Noeleen

Glen 69 says... I used Confidor tablets with great success two years ago, but needed to apply it twelve months later. I intend to use it yearly to ensure they don't return. (three different varieties of Szygium which were claimed to be Psyllid resitant!) Interestingly they were 6 years old before they were affected. It does not appear to work on Tiny Trev. though.
Tablets are horrendously expensive though.